Gygax/Troll Lords news

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Although I can't see the post myself, I received an email a few minutes ago with the following information:

odd74.proboards.com/post/269371/thread
geoffrey said"

I received an email this morning from the Troll Lords announcing the following:

Gary Gygax Returns!

We are very happy to announce that Troll Lord Games, in conjunction with the estate of E. Gary Gygax, and Luke Gygax, is at long last able to bring the works of the Father of Role Playing back to the gaming table!

This has been something we have desired for 15 years and something we are beyond ecstatic to make happen! For everyone here at Troll Lord Games, and for all of you out there, and for the legacy of E. Gary Gygax, this is a wonderful day.

A glorious day!

We need to show the Estate Managers the real value of this material and to do that we have already announced and launched the Pre-order for the Classic Yggsburgh Fantasy Campaign Setting. Written by Gary Gygax and first published in 2005, this classic work is full to the brim with gaming content.

This will be the original version of this work as written by Gary and published by TLG. It includes two maps, one by our Lady of Gaming, Darlene! We aren't changing anything but the Stock Code on the spine!

Castle Zagyg Vol I: Yggsburgh, consists of the walled Town of Yggsburgh with over 20,000 persons, and its environs, which includes many communities such as the thorp of Garham and 60 different geographic locales, each with their own peculiarities and adventures. The map charts over 1500 square miles of adventuring terrain, allowing the inclusion of Yggsburgh and Environs into almost any fantasy campaign setting. Each geographic locale has one or more adventures associated with it, offering hundreds of different plots, themes and escapades, players can take their characters on. It is a 256 page, hardback (smyth-sewn), book with one 24 x 30 inch double-sided, full color map by Darlene! It retails for $39.95. It is designed for play with the Castle & Crusades® Role Playing Game, but ports into many other RPGs, old and new, with minimal effort.

Reserve Your Copy Today!!

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

NICE!!!! I'm all over that!

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

With any luck, this will lead to a new printing of Lejendary Adventures.

[simrion]

Has it been confirmed this is simply a reprint of the previous version or will there be new material? I have all the old stuff and even managed to get Upper Works (for a pretty penny bitd.) If their intention is to finally publish Gary's dungeon (with the blessing of the current IP owner) I too would be all over that.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Aug 26, 2023 17:01:17 GMT -5 simrion said:

Has it been confirmed this is simply a reprint of the previous version or will there be new material? I have all the old stuff and even managed to get Upper Works (for a pretty penny bitd.) If their intention is to finally publish Gary's dungeon (with the blessing of the current IP owner) I too would be all over that.

I think they are doing reprints first for quick cash to keep the IP owners happy and then are going on to new stuff. I have not had a chance to look around much for information.

[simrion]

Aug 26, 2023 23:32:30 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

Aug 26, 2023 17:01:17 GMT -5 simrion said:

Has it been confirmed this is simply a reprint of the previous version or will there be new material? I have all the old stuff and even managed to get Upper Works (for a pretty penny bitd.) If their intention is to finally publish Gary's dungeon (with the blessing of the current IP owner) I too would be all over that.

I think they are doing reprints first for quick cash to keep the IP owners happy and then are going on to new stuff. I have not had a chance to look around much for information.

Been burned so many times now I'm not getting my hopes up. I think the IP owner (Gail?) has far too high an expectation for the monetization of Gary's legacy. Kind of a "what comes around goes around" considering how poorly Dave's legacy was represented :-(

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Aug 27, 2023 5:51:01 GMT -5 simrion said:

Aug 26, 2023 23:32:30 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

I think they are doing reprints first for quick cash to keep the IP owners happy and then are going on to new stuff. I have not had a chance to look around much for information.

Been burned so many times now I'm not getting my hopes up. I think the IP owner (Gail?) has far too high an expectation for the monetization of Gary's legacy. Kind of a "what comes around goes around" considering how poorly Dave's legacy was represented :-(

Reading between the lines, I think one of the sons has convinced her to try again and I think the money is running out. I saw Luke Gygax being mentioned as involved in the project.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

This is from a fading memory and about half speculation but...

I remember when Troll Lord Games was publishing his Castle Zygag and Lejendary Adventures materials.  I wanted both of these product lines and was going to definitely pull the trigger on the first batch of new LA material.  I had the original rulebooks so I didn't "need" it, but I would have definitely enjoyed a revised version of the product line and presentation; not to mention the Lejendary AsteRogues game could have seen print as well. On a side note, I actually signed a developmental agreement with Gary for a Gamma World type game using the LA rules but due to his untimely passing and other real-world events occurring it never advanced beyond a proof of concept that would have been developed into a first draft.  Castle Zygag seemed like a no-brainer to me.  Then there were several missteps that led to none of this happening.  The publishing rights were yanked from TLG, there was a controversy about the Gygax memorial, Gail forcing the shutdown of Gygax magazine, and the website for Gygax Games which never did offer any of the products available for sale, so it became nothing more than a very rarely updated placeholder. 

In my opinion, if Gail would have allowed this stuff to happen years ago it would have been in high demand. I may be wrong but I think there will be less demand now but that doesn't mean it won't be at a level for the product to continue on.  It's very likely that there's enough demand to be sustainable.  I sure hope so because I would be interested in a revised LA (TLG had already started on this) and the re-publishing and continuation of his Zygag material.  Fingers crossed...

[simrion]

Aug 27, 2023 11:02:06 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

In my opinion, if Gail would have allowed this stuff to happen years ago it would have been in high demand. I may be wrong but I think there will be less demand now but that doesn't mean it won't be at a level for the product to continue on.  It's very likely that there's enough demand to be sustainable.  I sure hope so because I would be interested in a revised LA (TLG had already started on this) and the re-publishing and continuation of his Zygag material.  Fingers crossed...

I can't help thinking she was hoping for a repeat of the late 70's/early 80's financial success of the game. At one point Gary was riding the crest of a wave before it all came crashing down. Sadly that genii has been long out of the bottle. Granted Wizards does decent but they also have quite the bankroll from all of their other corporate properties. Paizo and Troll Lords seem to do well but I think they really work hard at that and have to constantly adapt and change to accomplish that. Not sure any of the other countless rpg companies make all that much $ anymore, more a labor of love than anything else. At this point Gail ought (and this is just my humble opinion) make a deal to preserve Gary's legacy in some form besides a memorial. Allowing release of his original dungeon in some form would certainly do that in my mind. and not the haphazard $*%t show The Hobby Shop Dungeon turned out to be. I got old waiting for fulfillment on that front and the end result was a shadow of what was originally promised...sigh.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Aug 28, 2023 5:28:54 GMT -5 simrion said:

Aug 27, 2023 11:02:06 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

In my opinion, if Gail would have allowed this stuff to happen years ago it would have been in high demand. I may be wrong but I think there will be less demand now but that doesn't mean it won't be at a level for the product to continue on.  It's very likely that there's enough demand to be sustainable.  I sure hope so because I would be interested in a revised LA (TLG had already started on this) and the re-publishing and continuation of his Zygag material.  Fingers crossed...

I can't help thinking she was hoping for a repeat of the late 70's/early 80's financial success of the game. At one point Gary was riding the crest of a wave before it all came crashing down. Sadly that genii has been long out of the bottle. Granted Wizards does decent but they also have quite the bankroll from all of their other corporate properties. Paizo and Troll Lords seem to do well but I think they really work hard at that and have to constantly adapt and change to accomplish that. Not sure any of the other countless rpg companies make all that much $ anymore, more a labor of love than anything else. At this point Gail ought (and this is just my humble opinion) make a deal to preserve Gary's legacy in some form besides a memorial. Allowing release of his original dungeon in some form would certainly do that in my mind. and not the haphazard $*%t show The Hobby Shop Dungeon turned out to be. I got old waiting for fulfillment on that front and the end result was a shadow of what was originally promised...sigh.

I think you are right on all fronts.

[muddywater]

Anyone know what is happening with this?